First Edition Cycling News for June 29, 2007

Di Luca and Mazzoleni to appear before CONI

2007 Giro d'Italia
winner Danilo Di Luca has been summoned by the Italian Olympic Committee
(CONI), and is scheduled to appear on July 5 regarding the 2004 Oil
for Drugs investigation. The announcement by CONI, including hearing
dates for Eddy Mazzoleni, Alessandro Petacchi and Ruggero Marzoli,
comes on the heels Italy's la Repubblica newspaper reporting part
of evidence obtained during the investigation by Italy's Anti-Narcotics
Group (NAS).

In the past days, NAS mailed a 572 page document with audio and video
recordings to prosecuting attorney Paolo Ferraro. The documents centre
on doctor Carlo Santuccione of Cepagatti, Pescara, including telephone
and video recordings with 31 year-old Di Luca.

In a recorded conversation from March 3, 2004, five days before Milano-Sanremo,
Santuccione expressed the need to inject Erythropoietin immediately since,
at the time, the drug was only detectable for a few days. "You have to
pass by. You have to hurry because you need to do it today," said the
doctor. Di Luca responded that he would come by with Alessandro Spezialetti
at 19.00.

"Doctor Carlo Santuccione enters the office. Takes with him, in his
hands, two disposable syringes," reads the video description recorded
at 19.21. According to the paper Santuccione is seen preparing the vials
with the blood boosting hormone Erythropoietin (r-EPO) and then exiting
the office where Di Luca and Spezialetti are waiting outside. Both riders
were part of the Saeco team in 2004.

Eddy Mazzoleni, third in this year's Giro, who was also part of the 2004
Saeco squad. He will be heard by CONI on July 4. In the documents
are recorded SMS messages that the rider from Bergamo sent to Santuccione
mentioning Di Luca and hormone use.

"Hello it is Eddy I wanted to ask you when next week I am able to come
for the three trainings... Bye and thanks," read a SMS message from Mazzoleni
that NAS believes refers to illicit products.

UCI antidoping agreement: 165 riders sign, Rabobank protests

A little more than one week after it introduced an antidoping
agreement and required all ProTour riders to sign prior to competing
in the Tour de France, the UCI has amassed a list of 165 riders' names
on the charter as of Thursday evening, according to the UCI website. Many
teams have added names en masse, including French teams AG2R, Credit Agricole,
Agritubel, Bouygues Telecom and Cofidis, and the German teams T-Mobile
and Gerolsteiner.

First time Tour de France participant Barloworld added its riders names
to the list, as did most of Team Milram, however absent still are any
riders from the Belgian Quickstep and Predictor-Lotto squads, Italian
teams Liquigas and Lampre, and the Discovery Channel, Rabobank, Euskaltel-Euskadi,
Astana, Unibet.com and Team CSC. Many teams are approaching the new document
with caution.

In a press conference this week, Discovery team director Johan Bruyneel
indicated that his riders would sign the document. "Yes. We're hoping
it will be signed by all our riders before the Tour de France," Bruyneel
said. "We definitely agree with it, but I believe that it is being amended
as we speak because it is not a legally-binding document. But it's definitely
a message all the teams want to send out together," he added.

Other teams have been more vocal about their objections to the document,
which has the riders agree to give up a years' salary if found guilty
of doping, and agreeing to give up a DNA sample. The Italian riders' association,
ACCPI, is still debating
the document, and the Rabobank team has released an official statement
from the riders voicing their objections to the agreement. The riders'
statement was quickly followed by a statement from the team saying that
"All riders of the Rabo ProTeam will sign the statement 'Riders'
commitment to a new cycling'" It added, "At the moment, the
team is collecting all documents. Only when all signed statements have
been collected, the team will present them to the UCI."

The Rabobank riders stated that they "unanimously question the actions
of the International Cycling Union (UCI)," and felt that it displayed
a "lack of respect for the rights of the individual cyclist."

The Rabobank riders' statement also criticised the UCI for failing to
contact the riders before rolling out the agreement, and described the
move as "a public tribunal by [the] UCI. It witnesses an undemocratic
approach, that UCI makes public which riders have signed the statement
on its website.

Wiggins to take on Le Tour

As expected, Cofidis rider Bradley Wiggins will have his chance to light
up the prologue course in London next weekend. Wiggins was named to the
team's Tour de France squad by manager Eric Boyer on Thursday. Wiggins,
the reigning World Champion in the
pursuit, won the prologue at the Dauphiné
Libéré earlier this month, and is one of the hot favourites
to win the 8km test
on July 7th. Wiggins
told Cyclingnews earlier this month that he is targeting a top
finish. "I can really target the top five but I'm not the only one
able to win, there'll be David Millar, David Zabriskie, George Hincapie,
and Fabian Cancellara."

Jaksche, Kessler out of German championship

The German cycling federation (Bundes Deutscher Radfahrer - BDR) has
said that riders Jörg Jaksche and Matthias Kessler will not be welcome
at the German championship on Sunday, according the the news agency sid.
While neither rider has been sanctioned by the UCI, Jaksche is currently
suspended by his
Tinkoff Credit Systems team after being named in the Operación
Puerto affair, and Matthias Kessler was supsended by Astana
this week after returning an elevated testosterone result from a surprise
doping control on April 24th.

Kirchen renews with T-Mobile

Tour de Suisse runner-up Kim Kirchen has signed a two-year extension
to his contract with T-Mobile, the team announced Thursday. The contract
will keep the defending Luxembourg champion in magenta until the end of
2009. "I feel very much at home with T-Mobile," Kirchen said on the
team's website, www.t-mobile-team.com. "I have developed enormously
as a rider during my two seasons with the team. I am sure that I can go
on to achieve even more in this environment."

The 28-year old, who came to the team in 2006 from Fassa Bortolo, is
set to ride his first Tour de France for T-Mobile this year. "Kim has
ridden well all season and it's a hell of a comeback," said general
manager Bob Stapleton. "He did not have a good season in the team
last year - he struggled, but this year he feels a lot better on the bike,
he's got better power transfer, he's more comfortable and he's more durable."

Kirchen's second overall at the Tour de Suisse is just the latest good
result in a solid season that included a second overall Tirreno-Adriatico
and third place finishes in Milano-Torino and Brabantse Pijl.

"Plus he's got a good role in the team," added Stapleton. "The
team atmosphere is very positive and he feels accepted and liked by his
team mates. It's great to have him on board."

Czech and Slovak TT championships cancelled

The joint time trial championships of Czech Republic and Slovakia, due
to be held Thursday near Brno, were cancelled due to safety reasons after
the race course became a detour from a major motorway. The resulting amount
of traffic on the course made the conditions unsafe for the riders. "The
Prague-Brno motorway was blocked following an accident and the traffic
was deviated. Then, the trucks and the coaches [were] circulated on the
road where the race was being held," the championships' director,
Pavel Havranek, explained to AFP.

The women's and juniors races were run before officials decided the conditions
were too unsafe to continue the competition. "We completely cancelled
this competition. The traffic on the road is too dense. The health and
the safety of the cyclists were in danger," explained the principal
referee of the race, Richard Kratochvil.

While the race organisation searches for a way to reschedule the event,
the time trial director, Zdenek Valenta, blamed the cancellation on a
lack of co-operation on part of the local police force.

Russian track star dies

Russian track standout Yulia Arustamova was found dead in a Moscow apartment
on Thursday, according to interfaksu. The multiple track World
Cup medallist's body was discovered by her room-mate, Rudolf Zagaynov,
according to Sportkom, where she had allegedly hung herself in
the bathroom.

US National festival gets new sponsor

USA cycling has announced a new sponsor for its championship festival
in July. California Giant Berry Farms was named as a presenting sponsor
of the 2007 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs, which will
be held July 6-17 in Champion, Pennsylvania.

"As a strong supporter of competitive cycling, California Giant is extremely
proud and pleased to support the USA Cycling National Festival at Seven
Springs," commented Anthony Gallino, vice president of sales for California
Giant Berry Farms and team director of the California Giant cycling team.
"We are equally excited for our cycling team to compete for national titles
in several categories."

The 2007 USA Cycling National Festival at Seven Springs presented by
California Giant Berry Farms kicks off July 6 with masters championship
races, and ends July 17. Throughout the course of the event, national
titles will be awarded in time trial, road race and criterium events across
men's and women's junior, U23, elite and master categories.

New Prizes Added - Fantasy Le Tour Game

One week left - create your teams now!

A few days ago we announced the Cervelo Soloist Carbon bike as this year's
le Tour Grand Prize. Today we are pleased to confirm that Saris will be
joining the prize list again in this year's games. The first runner-up will
win a Cycleops Powertap 2.4 wireless. They have upgraded the world's most
accurate, lightest power meter to be the world's first wireless meter, meaning
you can easily switch it between bikes. Powertap 2.4 measures watts, cadence,
heart rate, speed, kilojoules, averages and graphs out your workout for
you so you can chart your training progress. Powertap expert Allen Lim uses
the Powertap 2.4 exclusively to coach the US based Slipstream Chipotle squad.
The 2.4 combines the lightweight reliable SL hub with a 2.4GHz transmission.
Hub to handlebar...no strings attached!

Even if you don't win the Grand Prize, the Fantasy Le Tour game is a
great way to follow the Tour each day here at Cyclingnews. It's free
to play the first three stages - try it out today. You don't need
to be a cycling expert to win prizes. Registration
has already begun.

Le Tour Fantasy Game prize list updated

Prize summary: From one Grand Prize and one First Runner-up to
three each Second, Third, and Fourth Runner-up prize packages, there are
eleven chances for you to win based on your overall performance in the
2007 Le Tour Fantasy Game. There are also 21 daily prizes for each stage's
top performer. All prizes are as listed (substitution requests cannot
be honored). The roster of prizes so far is as follows:

What is the Fantasy Le Tour game?

The online game allows you to assume the role of a professional team
manager for the 2007 Le Tour and create your own dream team from any of
the real life riders in this year's Tour. In what's set to be the most
open Tour in decades, based on the live racing action, you will take up
the challenge of using your knowledge and tactical skill as a race team
manager to compete with other virtual managers from around the world.
Follow the races live and use your skill and knowledge to win some great
prizes.

Play for free in the Fantasy Le Tour 2007 game

Remember you can play
for free for the first three stages! Try the game out and see how
best to play. It's easy to play the Tour games - all you need to do is
pick your dream team of 15 from the riders racing in this year's Le Tour
start list. Then each day pick nine riders to race for your fantasy team
from these 15. You'll need a good combination of climbers, sprinters,
and general classification riders.